The Way a Family of
Canadian Geese Cross the RoadBy: Frank L. Hoffman - 2 July 2000

Several weeks ago, while I was in Streetsboro, Ohio, an associate of
mine was driving us to the job site of an assisted living facility which was still under
construction. It's located near the Frost Road exit of Interstate 480. On the
west side of the exit is a lake which has a population of Canadian Geese. And like
so many of us humans, a Canada Goose seems to think that the grass is greener on the other
side of the road, for several families of them were grazing in the grassy area between the
Interstate and the local road that separated them from the lake.

By the time we arrived on the scene, these families had decided to
return to the lake. They were all gathered together on the east side of the Hudson
Aurora Road waiting for an opportunity to cross over to the lake side. During a
short lull in the early morning traffic, just as we were arriving, a father stepped out
onto the road and walked to the center with his wings spread out like a school crossing
guard. We stopped, as did the car heading in the opposite direction. When this
Canada Goose was convinced that it was safe for his family to cross the road, he signaled
to his wife, while at the same time he dropped his wings and stood with his head held
high. Mom started to cross the road with her children close behind, or at least most
of them.

During this time Dad kept alternately looking at us and the driver of
the other car to make sure that we weren't going to move until his family was safely
across the road. He didn't look at the cars. Instead, he looked us squarely in
the eyes, knowing that we would signal our intentions before our cars ever started to
move. Once Mom and most of the kids were safely on the other side, Dad left his
sentinel position and hurried his straggling kids safely across the road.

As some of you may have noticed, I have not used human-derived
"goose terms" (such as "gander" and "gosling" to
describe this family, because these geese behaved as human families are supposed
to behave. I also referred to Mom as Dad's wife, for Canadian Geese mate for life,
unlike 50% of us humans.

I believe that God shows us these things as a reminder of how we are
to live. If these geese can listen to God concerning how to raise and protect their
families, shouldn't we do so, too, since we consider ourselves to be a "higher"
form of life?

As a "higher" form of life, we have been given a free will,
as I believe these Canadian Geese also have. However, some of us choose to destroy
such loving families in the name of "sport", or to eliminate a supposed
"problem". Is this an example of a "higher" form of life?
I don't believe so. To me, it only points out our defects.

If we would only open our eyes and hearts to truly see and understand
God's messages through such occurrences as these geese presented, we would have a much
more loving, compassionate, and peaceful world.

Let us pray that we all become more attentive to God's messages of
love and compassion. Amen.